APT 700MHz + Fixed wireless broadband

Forums › Spark New Zealand (including Skinny and BigPipe) › APT 700MHz + Fixed wireless broadband

matisyahu

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#209167 15-Mar-2017 20:57

Ok,

I've checked out this: https://beta.gis.geek.nz

And according to that the closest tower has a 700MHz transmitter however I an skeptical given that the closest towers are: Spark NAENAE INDUSTRIAL and Spark AVALON, both which apparently have 700MHz, however on my iPhone 6s which supports the said frequency is stuck on one 'dot' which tells me that it is using 1800MHz given that 700MHz would provide greater coverage. Anyone confirm whether the map is out of date/incorrect or whether it is just an issue with my phone. My main focus is the fact that since it is just me I can save a few dollars moving from fibre to wireless broadband.

"When the people are being beaten with a stick, they are not much happier if it is called 'the People's Stick'"

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#1740061 15-Mar-2017 21:27

The gis.geek.nz site takes licensing data from the RSM database and doest a great job of displaying it. It does not guarantee that the operators have actually switched on a service from a particular site however.

Maybe have a look at the spark coverage tool and see if you can narrow down their 700 MHz coverage in the Hutt Valley and see if you can determine if those sites are live. Maybe one of the friendly spark users will be able to confirm if those sites are live (if they can).

Linux

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#1740063 15-Mar-2017 21:33

Those sites panels might not even be pointing at your location you need to stop going on about 1 dot 4G coverage and thinking 4G 700 is the silver bullet to improving 4G coverage,

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#1740065 15-Mar-2017 21:35

If you move don't complain about increased latency or peak time slow downs

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sbiddle

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#1740075 15-Mar-2017 22:16

I'm pretty sure all the FWA is only using 2300MHz in Wellington now.

gajan

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#1740097 15-Mar-2017 22:50

DM me your approx location and I'll check the likely serving cell tomorrow.

My comments and remarks are not necessarily of my employer.

andrewcnz

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#1740127 16-Mar-2017 06:52

matisyahu:

Ok,

I've checked out this: https://beta.gis.geek.nz

And according to that the closest tower has a 700MHz transmitter however I an skeptical given that the closest towers are: Spark NAENAE INDUSTRIAL and Spark AVALON, both which apparently have 700MHz, however on my iPhone 6s which supports the said frequency is stuck on one 'dot' which tells me that it is using 1800MHz given that 700MHz would provide greater coverage. Anyone confirm whether the map is out of date/incorrect or whether it is just an issue with my phone. My main focus is the fact that since it is just me I can save a few dollars moving from fibre to wireless broadband.

Looks like the entire Wellington area is getting the 4G 700 service going by the RSM list. Takes time from licence issued till site active. Have a look at this link below to Spark page "Mobile service updates" shows cell sites/areas that they working on that might impact customers.

http://www.spark.co.nz/help/servicealert/mobileservicealert

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sbiddle

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#1740130 16-Mar-2017 07:20

andrewcnz:

Looks like the entire Wellington area is getting the 4G 700 service going by the RSM list. Takes time from licence issued till site active. Have a look at this link below to Spark page "Mobile service updates" shows cell sites/areas that they working on that might impact customers.

http://www.spark.co.nz/help/servicealert/mobileservicealert

It's not going to matter what bands are deployed on a site because ultimately where 2300 is available it's going to be the only band available for FWA connections in urban areas. While most devices at are connecting to 1800 at present once the 2300 build is complete this band will be dedicated to FWA and is why Spark purchased this 70MHz of spectrum from Woosh.

tripper1000

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#1740159 16-Mar-2017 09:37

I have run a few freq apps on an old Samsung S5 and I've noticed that if 700MHz and 1800MHz are available, the phone will favour the higher frequency, even if the higher frequency is much weaker. (Same applies for 3G and 850/900 MHz vs 2100 MHZ).

I assume that the reason for this is 2 fold;

1) Speed: Given the shorter range of the higher frequencies, there will be fewer users in the cell and so correspondingly better speed.

2) Load Balancing: Given the longer range of 700MHz and the above speed issues, it would make sense if 700MHz was reserved for users for whom it is the only option (eg in poorer coverage or at greater range), rather than saturating the 700MHz cell with users who have other band choices. This balancing would result in better speed for everyone, near or far.

Maybe some of the Cellular professionals can confirm weather or not this is correct?

It is interesting to find out that 2300 is going to be used for fixed - I was wondering how they were prioritising mobile and fixed traffic.

Edit: spelling.

gajan

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#1740170 16-Mar-2017 10:24

sbiddle:

andrewcnz:

Looks like the entire Wellington area is getting the 4G 700 service going by the RSM list. Takes time from licence issued till site active. Have a look at this link below to Spark page "Mobile service updates" shows cell sites/areas that they working on that might impact customers.

http://www.spark.co.nz/help/servicealert/mobileservicealert

It's not going to matter what bands are deployed on a site because ultimately where 2300 is available it's going to be the only band available for FWA connections in urban areas. While most devices at are connecting to 1800 at present once the 2300 build is complete this band will be dedicated to FWA and is why Spark purchased this 70MHz of spectrum from Woosh.

We haven't made that call - we plan on supporting our current FWA across all available layers. This may of course change in the future.

My comments and remarks are not necessarily of my employer.

gajan

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#1740174 16-Mar-2017 10:29

tripper1000:

I have run a few freq apps on an old Samsung S5 and I've noticed that if 700MHz and 1800MHz are available, the phone will favour the higher frequency, even if the higher frequency is much weaker. (Same applies for 3G and 850/900 MHz vs 2100 MHZ).

I assume that the reason for this is 2 fold;

1) Speed: Given the shorter range of the higher frequencies, there will be fewer users in the cell and so correspondingly better speed.

2) Load Balancing: Given the longer range of 700MHz and the above speed issues, it would make sense if 700MHz was reserved for users for whom it is the only option (eg in poorer coverage or at greater range), rather than saturating the 700MHz cell with users who have other band choices. This balancing would result in better speed for everyone, near or far.

Maybe some of the Cellular professionals can confirm weather or not this is correct?

It is interesting to find out that 2300 is going to be used for fixed - I was wondering how there were prioritising mobile and fixed traffic.

Camping strategy is a complicated thing and made up from a number of different criteria including coverage (quality + signal strength), capacity, service segregation, UE capability. We take all of this into account in managing our service experience across the network, and can vary from site to site depending on the planning strategy used.

My comments and remarks are not necessarily of my employer.

sbiddle

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#1740176 16-Mar-2017 10:40

gajan:

sbiddle:

andrewcnz:

Looks like the entire Wellington area is getting the 4G 700 service going by the RSM list. Takes time from licence issued till site active. Have a look at this link below to Spark page "Mobile service updates" shows cell sites/areas that they working on that might impact customers.

http://www.spark.co.nz/help/servicealert/mobileservicealert

It's not going to matter what bands are deployed on a site because ultimately where 2300 is available it's going to be the only band available for FWA connections in urban areas. While most devices at are connecting to 1800 at present once the 2300 build is complete this band will be dedicated to FWA and is why Spark purchased this 70MHz of spectrum from Woosh.

We haven't made that call - we plan on supporting our current FWA across all available layers. This may of course change in the future.

Well Spark told the Commerce Commission that 2300MHz was essential part of the FWA business plan and that would be used as a dedicated FWA band.

So if 2300MHz isn't being used right now to provide FWA are Spark in breach of their management rights and conditions of the sale of that spectrum?

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gajan

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#1740398 16-Mar-2017 16:11

sbiddle:

gajan:

sbiddle:

andrewcnz:

Looks like the entire Wellington area is getting the 4G 700 service going by the RSM list. Takes time from licence issued till site active. Have a look at this link below to Spark page "Mobile service updates" shows cell sites/areas that they working on that might impact customers.

http://www.spark.co.nz/help/servicealert/mobileservicealert

It's not going to matter what bands are deployed on a site because ultimately where 2300 is available it's going to be the only band available for FWA connections in urban areas. While most devices at are connecting to 1800 at present once the 2300 build is complete this band will be dedicated to FWA and is why Spark purchased this 70MHz of spectrum from Woosh.

We haven't made that call - we plan on supporting our current FWA across all available layers. This may of course change in the future.

Well Spark told the Commerce Commission that 2300MHz was essential part of the FWA business plan and that would be used as a dedicated FWA band.

So if 2300MHz isn't being used right now to provide FWA are Spark in breach of their management rights and conditions of the sale of that spectrum?

Nope I didn't say that 2300 isn't being used. It most definitely is. I was merely pointing out that we are using ALL carriers available to us to provide capacity.

My comments and remarks are not necessarily of my employer.

coffeebaron

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#1740403 16-Mar-2017 16:35

gajan:

sbiddle:

gajan:

sbiddle:

It's not going to matter what bands are deployed on a site because ultimately where 2300 is available it's going to be the only band available for FWA connections in urban areas. While most devices at are connecting to 1800 at present once the 2300 build is complete this band will be dedicated to FWA and is why Spark purchased this 70MHz of spectrum from Woosh.

We haven't made that call - we plan on supporting our current FWA across all available layers. This may of course change in the future.

Well Spark told the Commerce Commission that 2300MHz was essential part of the FWA business plan and that would be used as a dedicated FWA band.

So if 2300MHz isn't being used right now to provide FWA are Spark in breach of their management rights and conditions of the sale of that spectrum?

Nope I didn't say that 2300 isn't being used. It most definitely is. I was merely pointing out that we are using ALL carriers available to us to provide capacity.

So is reverse correct, i.e. FWA can use all bands including 2300, but regular devices will be excluded from using 2300?

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andrewcnz

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#1740446 16-Mar-2017 19:07

I was in Fairlie and Twizel last month and using my Mate 9, I was getting 4G+ carrier aggregation. Those locations have 4G on 700 and 2300Mhz.

hio77

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#1740525 16-Mar-2017 21:24

andrewcnz:

I was in Fairlie and Twizel last month and using my Mate 9, I was getting 4G+ carrier aggregation. Those locations have 4G on 700 and 2300Mhz.

Yep CA is getting rolled out now, it's great to see.

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